


Hollow Comfort

by sue_dreams (raegan_1)



Category: Smallville
Genre: M/M, no one dies who isn't already dead, squint for preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-09
Updated: 2009-12-09
Packaged: 2017-12-04 14:18:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/711663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raegan_1/pseuds/sue_dreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Future!fic (of a sort.) All Hallow's Eve is believed to be the night in which the barriers between 'our world' and the world of the dead are thinnest. Lex can't restrict himself to just watching Clark in the aftermath of a battle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hollow Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Does not contradict any current (mid-season 9) canon regarding character statuses. (ie, Lex is dead.) Includes some DCU elements and characters. Written for the CLFF Wave 34 (way back in the day)

The rain has let up, almost as if the weather itself is reacting to the end of the battle. Water still comes down in drizzles, dripping on his head and running down it in thin rivulets. Lex has to wipe his head with his soaked sleeve to keep it from continually obscuring his vision. Clark's outfit seems to have fared better; spandex doesn't hold water like silk, though there's something squelchy in Clark's movements to suggest it does absorb in its own way.

It's slow going, trying to traverse the ruined street between them, but Clark keeps stopping and slumping over, making catching up easier. Lex knows the signs of injury and Kryptonite-induced weakness when he sees it. It's a wonder he's still upright at all, let alone capable of walking.

Somewhere, the remains of the Justice League are securing the area and seeing to the civilians, but no one has come to check on Superman since the Gargantuan went down. Even Lane is missing in action. Not presumed dead, however. Lois Lane is hardier than a cockroach and just as prone to scuttling out of reach of danger.

He reaches Clark's side just as the Kryptonian comes to another slouching standstill. Lex weaves, and it takes a combination of combat training and dance lessons for Lex to maneuver himself under Clark's arm. As a crutch, he's none-too-solid. Clark seems to realize that, as his weight shifts to bring him upright again.

As one awkward, four-legged creature, they lumber off the street and onto a bus stop bench. The shelter was torn away during battle with the monster, but the seat is intact. Lex helps Clark into a sitting position, then straightens back up. "Stay there." He can't exactly run and get one of the medics, and he doesn't know who else takes care of Clark when he's this weak, other than the costumed freaks still playing hero to the general populace.

Lex wishes he could call someone for assistance. Martha comes to mind, but he can only imagine her reaction to that call. He looks at Clark and shares the image, finishing with, "And then she'd ask me what I thought I was doing with her son."

There's not much of a reaction from Clark, and Lex moves closer again, his hands in his pockets. Anger simmers in his chest, that Clark is left alone like this with no one but Lex to look after him. He doesn't like Bruce, but he expects more from him. The bastard should have been looking out for his fellow Caped Crusader.

"I'd have to answer, 'Having my wicked way with him, of course,'" Lex adds. Clark's head lifts and green eyes regard him with a silent question. "I would, if the situation were different."

Clark rewards him with a crooking at the corner of his mouth, an attempt at a smile. Lex sits down next to him and they lean into each other. Clark's head rolls to rest against his shoulder. "'m tired."

Lex wraps an arm around his shoulders and lets him rest, knowing it won't be too long before Bruce-as-Batman finds them. The drizzle eases back to a gloomy dampness with the occasional splat of droplets.

The ground shakes as a damaged building finishes its collapse half a street away. Clark doesn't even flinch at the noise, though Lex jumps enough for the both of them. He looks up to check the area immediately above them. Clark's in no condition to do any more rescuing, even of himself.

There are sirens in the distance, but their little spot, though neither private nor protected, is almost a haven. Lex leans his cheek against the top of Clark's head and lets the heat seep from Clark's skin and into his own. It's surprisingly peaceful, for a scene from the end of the world.

The batarang makes no sound, striking and catching so far above and away from them, but Lex sees the black shape of the Batman as he approaches. He shimmies out from under Clark and lays him gently down on the bench to rest. He picks his way back into the street, and keeps his back to Clark and Bruce as the latter sets down in a flutter of cape. "Superman."

"Mm," Clark murmurs. He's muzzy, still exhausted. Lex turns and watches as he struggles to sit up unaided. Heaven forbid Bruce actually help or show real concern. "Batman?"

"The creature is down, though we can't tell if it's dead." Lex is pretty sure it isn't. There's a pause, one that is heavy and loud with Bruce's inner struggle. Whatever in him that acts as his human heart seems to get the better of him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Fine," Clark says softly. His eyes are open and flickering over the mini-craters that litter what once had been a main thoroughfare. "I thought I saw-"

Batman shifts closer, but he doesn't sit down. "Saw?" He turns his head in a motion that is slow and controlled, looking for enemies without making it seem as if he's on alert.

"Nothing," Clark says. His gaze moves over Lex without stopping, without any indication that he's seen him. "It was nothing, just seeing things."

"It may not be nothing." It's rare for Bruce to disagree without sounding like he's arguing, and he doesn't manage it this time. There's something about Clark and Superman that always has his back up. "It is All Hallow's Eve and there's no telling what that thing brought with it."

It seems to take a lot of effort, but Clark manages to get to his feet. His costume is the worse for wear, his cape torn down the center so that it hangs in two strips, but he's still Superman. He moves past Bruce and toward Lex. "Trust me, this isn't anything Cthulhu here brought with him from the Netherworld." His voice softens as he stops in front of Lex. He's looking at a spot over Lex's shoulder, staring into a distance probably only he can see. "Just a ghost from my past."

The rescue efforts are drawing closer. Batman starts to say something, stops, and then fills in the awkward silence that follows with, "We should see to helping the others."

"I'll be right there." Clark doesn't look over his shoulder as Batman nods and then leaves with more noise than he arrived. When it's again just the two of them, Clark breathes out a small sigh, one that seems to push out the last of the effects of the battle. Lex waits for him to fly or speed away, but instead, Clark's eyes come back to make contact with Lex's.

The shock strikes him mute, if only temporarily. Trust Clark to perceive what human eyes can't see.

This time, Clark manages a full smile. If it seems a little wistful, that could just be Lex projecting. "One day," he says. It sounds like a promise.

"Don't be hasty," Lex warns him. He reaches up as if to brush debris from Clark's shoulder, but the barriers are strengthening. His hand glides through Clark and he pulls it back quickly. Clark's smile is sad and Lex watches his eyes until they lose focus on his own.

Next year would come soon enough.


End file.
